PHILADELPHIA — With an expiring contract and a team only getting younger, Jameer Nelson’s days in Orlando are numbered. Well, at least that’s what basketball scribes have written and Internet pundits have been saying since training camp.
Uncertainty abounds regarding his future with the Magic, but there’s no denying Nelson’s role with the team has changed. The Chester High (Pa.) product has gone from playmaker to player-teacher, as the 31-year-old is being looked toward to guide younger teammates.
“I hope he’s not coaching yet,” Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said of Nelson. “I want that player side of him still. He’s been great for our guys. There’s little things that go on through the course of the year, whether it’s: How do you talk to the ballboys? How do you act in the hotel? When you get in the cab, do you tip? Those are things veterans take care of. A coach is not always around. And then (there’s) his ability on the floor to guide guys.”
Nelson missed Tuesday night’s game against the 76ers. He sat out for the third straight game, and hasn’t played since spraining his left foot in the first half of the Magic’s Nov. 27 win over the visiting Sixers.
The 10th-year pro, who’s making $8.6 million, is in the final year of his contract. Nelson has an $8 million team option for next season and, with the evolution of rookie Victor Oladipo, it’s unclear whether the Magic would be willing to pick up that final season on his deal.
Still, it’s not easy to find a point guard of Nelson’s caliber — an All-Star with more than 500 career starts plus 39 more in the postseason, with NBA Finals experience and the 15th-most assists in NBA history.
Or to find one who’s as well regarded in Orlando as Nelson, who was unavailable to reporters pregame.
“I think people really like him in Orlando,” said Magic center Nik Vucevic. “He’s been there a while. He was there when they went to the Finals. He’s the leading player in assists. People really like him. He’s been great to the community and the fans. We really like him a lot.”
Nelson has struggled this season. He has his lowest scoring average (11.7 points per game) since 2007-08, and the lowest field-goal percentage (37.3) and his highest turnover average (2.9 per game) of his career.
Sixers guard Michael Carter-Williams was named Kia Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.
He led all first-year players in scoring (17.2 points), assists (7.3), steals (2.92) and minutes (36.2) for his 13 games played in October and November. Carter-Williams is the first Sixers player to win the award since Allen Iverson in April 1997.
“He’s a great player,” said the Magic’s Oladipo, who was part of MCW’s draft class. “He’s going to keep working. That’s the kind of player he is.
The Sixers added Kendall Marshall to their NBA D-League pipeline, with the Delaware 87ers picking up the 6-4 point guard off waivers, according to a league source.
Marshall, the 13th overall pick by Phoenix in the 2012 draft, played 48 games with the Suns last season. The North Carolina product was traded to Washington last month and, three days after the deal, was waived by the Wizards.
The Sixers will have the luxury of calling up Marshall, too. Players in the NBDL cannot be promoted by their team’s parent club if they have not previously gone through the NBA Draft process. But by NBDL rules, Marshall is not beholden to the Sixers. Any NBA team can sign him at any time.
